Alex Galchenyuk - Tumblr Posts
4/? NHL Bromances: Brendan Gallagher & Alex Galchenyuk
I am DISGUSTED that Alex Galchenyuk has been made to feel like he’s the one who needs to apologize, that he’s the one who’s a “distraction”. That’s bullshit. And to be thrown under the bus by his organization, by his coach, and by at least one teammate is NOT what this kid--and yes, at 21, he’s a KID--deserves.
The fact that Alex feels compelled to apologize for this incident is incredibly saddening and horrifying at the same time. The Montreal media, the fans, and the Canadiens organization itself are, in my opinion, equally to blame for the way that this situation is currently being handled and viewed by the public. And it’s all, in a word, disheartening.
The media, for one, should have thought about keeping this matter private and allowing the police the proper time to investigate, while also allowing Alex himself time to process the incident, heal from it, and to seek support from those closest to him. I don’t mean that it should have been hidden and handled between Alex and the woman involved, and if I hear one more person whine about how private matters “of the home” should be dealt with within the home, I may pull my own hair out. The media, however, decided to break the story without many details, and have since decided that, in light of a domestic abuse situation, it would be best to post photos of the potential abuser wearing a bikini and clips of her dancing in a music video. Talk about good, professional journalism. Talk about perpetuating the idea that a woman could not possibly be an abuser; how could she be, when she’s so pretty and fragile herself, right? How could she possibly hit a man when she looks so nice in a bathing suit?
And the fans. The number of fans I’ve seen calling for Galchenyuk to be traded is honestly mortifying. They’re framing this as an “off ice” incident and yelling about how Alex shouldn’t have been partying in the first place, given the fact that the Habs have been in a slump. Are you kidding me? A loss in a hockey game does not negate the fact that a 21 year old kid can have friends over at his own house, on his own time. Being a victim of abuse is not grounds for trading someone to a different team. Being a victim of abuse does not mean that Alex is the goddamn cause of the Habs’ decline lately. Caring for a victim here, I would think, is a hell of a lot more important than winning hockey games. At the end of the day, hockey is a sport, a game, and a person’s well-being and health should not be tossed aside in order to make sure some grown men can focus on playing their game.
I am potentially most disappointed in the Canadiens organization as a whole, however. The morning of this incident, Galchenyuk and Devante Smith-Pelly were called in to have a talk. What was actually discussed at that meeting, we’ll never know, but I can take a guess as to what wasn’t said. I’d bet that Alex wasn’t told that the incident wasn’t his fault, or that he shouldn’t worry about being a distraction to the team at this time. I think it’s safe to say those things were left unsaid, given the fact that the Canadiens allowed Alex to make the statement above. That they even let him apologize at all. That they allowed his teammates to face the media yesterday, when Lars Eller decided to drop these words of wisdom: “Just be smart and be careful of putting yourself in dangerous situations.” Did Eller intentionally put blame on the victim in this situation with his words? I don’t think he meant to, but the message is clear. Alex shouldn’t have given his girlfriend a reason to hit him.
And it’s all so saddening to me. Alex has publicly now shouldered the blame for this, and the media, the fans, and the organization have allowed him to do so. Hell, I’d argue that they forced him to step up, to be a man, to apologize for all the noise he’s causing in an already troubled locker room. Not only that, but Alex stated that, “I feel bad for my teammates, the organization and for the fans.” He feels bad for the organization that put him in front of the media today; he feels bad for a coach who called his abuse “this type of distraction” and said that “he’ll learn” from this (learn what, other than the fact that his own coach doesn’t care about his well-being); he feels bad for the fans that are judging a 21 year old guy for having a party in his own home and are calling for his head to be put on the trading block because of it; he feels bad for his teammates that haven’t exactly been the epitome of supporters yet. Alex doesn’t feel bad for himself, when he was the one who was abused by a woman, I imagine, he trusted; he doesn’t feel bad for the only actual victim in this entire situation. Alex feels bad for all of the people who have labeled him as a distraction, not as a victim, and that’s not only sad, but it’s toxic and scary and fucked up all at the same time.